Microsoft adds wireless industry pioneer John W. Stanton as eleventh board member

By Sam Sabri
last updated

John W. Stanton, a pioneer and innovator in the global wireless industry, has just joined the Microsoft board. The announcement comes from Microsoft and makes Stanton, the 11th board member.

Stanton was responsible for four of the top wireless operators in the United States over the past thirty years. He also operated wireless networks in Africa, Europe, Central and South America, and New Zealand. From 1995 to 2003 he was the chairman and CEO of VoiceStream Wireless, which later became T-Mobile USA after being acquired by Deutsche Telekom.

Here's Microsoft chairman John W. Thompson on the arrival of Stanton:

"John brings extraordinary experience in the mobile communications industry and deep business acumen, and we are delighted that he is joining Microsoft's board of directors."

Currently, Stanton serves as chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners.

Best of luck to Stanton.

Source: Microsoft (opens in new tab)

Sam Sabri
Sam Sabri
20 Comments
  • Best of luck Stanton
  • At least this implies they really are serious about mobile.
  • He'll convince carriers to sell more Windows Phones. Best of luck to him.
  • +1520.3, +635
  • I would love to see a flagship Windows Phone launch on the scale that the iPhone and Galaxy series have.
  • There have been many. But to the populace, the software on the flagship device is nowhere near flagship quality. That is why it gets no press coverage.
  • I think Windows Phone 8.1 is sufficient for 50% of mobile phone users who simply want to make calls, send messages, browse the Internet and take pictures on a intuitive and affordable device. But obviously this isn't the case of anyone reading WPCentral or looking for a flagship phone. The 520 did have a huge press coverage. Microsoft needs to focus on emerging markets, like what they're doing in China, because one day those people will become rich and hopefully they'll buy high-end Windows Phones then. Only a groundbreaking technology could make Android and iOS users switch.
  • Disagree, the hardware until recently has been a full generation behind the competition.
  • Ref Novron,
    Those quad core phones where necessary to mitigate the laggy user experience. Windows Phone is smooth, as you know. Admittedly, most people only look at the marketing promotional numbers.
    -Edited by author.
  • ^this Windows Phone runs very well on even low-end hardware.  One of the reasons that the 520 has sold so well is that despite it's amazing low price, the OS experience is actually quite good and smooth.  You can't say that for Android phones costing twice as much (off contract pricing here). Apple's iOS does really well on hardware that spec-for-spec is a bit below the best Android hardware you can buy.  But they get away with it because like WP, iOS is a more optimized OS for smooth animations, etc.  Android has taken a long time to just get close.  And it's only now with Android L where they might be toe-to-toe.  Android L will help Google get low-end smartphones on a modern version of Android.  So they tweaked and optimized it to require less resources and horsepower then the previous versions.  This will let OEMs create low-cost hardware that isn't stuck on a hopelessly old version since newer versions of Android really can't run well on low-spec.  So L will run on low-spec, but the Jury is still out on how well L will perform compared to WP on something of the Lumia 520 spec level. The 520/530 may not be well speced compared to higher models.  But that's the point.  At that bargain price, it's pretty amazing the quality of the WP experience that you get.  I mean, you still get Cortana, Here Maps with offline support... the list goes on and on.
  • +928 & +929
  • Probably a smart move to bring him in and it shows how serious Microsoft is about mobile first
  • Agreed. This is very encouraging.  Lets hope this opens the gates to less carrier exclusivity headaches.
  • Haha, Gates. I understand.
  • Good to have him on our side, but I think they could have put him in a more influential position than a board member. I feel a director or other leadership title would be better. Perhaps something with the power of a board member, but with more targeted influence
  • He doesn't need to be influential in MS, he needs to be influential in the market.
  • +925 When you've got carrier staff who still to this day dis your product for whatever reason, it's hard to gain traction in the market.
  • Combined with the rumored Qualcomm exec coming over, it appears there might actually be some meat on those "mobile first" bones ..
  • Didn't bill gates come back part time? What ever came about that?
  • I think this is a good acquisition. His experience and opinion will be valued greatly.